by Katie Ashley
Her intense stare caused him to swallow hard several times. “Um, Em, are you asking what I think you’re asking?”
It took her a moment before her eyes bulged, and she shook her head wildly back and forth. “Oh God no! How could you think I brought you into my grandparent’s bedroom for sex?”
Aidan exhaled a defeated breath. “Maybe because I’ve been without sex for years now.”
Emma laughed. “It has not been years. It’s been exactly four weeks and five days.”
“You have it down to a science?”
“Well, it’s all based on Noah’s birthday since I gave you that going away present that sent me into early labor.”
Aidan grinned at the memory. “Oh yeah.”
“Anyway, I brought you in here because we’re in sort of a crisis—an Easter Bunny crisis.”
“Excuse me?”
Emma motioned to the bed. Draped across it was a furry, adult sized Easter Bunny costume. “You see every year Henry, the neighbor from down the road, plays the Easter Bunny during the egg hunt. But we just got a call from his wife that he’s in the ER passing a kidney stone.” Emma drew in a ragged breath. “Aidan, we need you to play the Easter Bunny.”
A hysterical laugh escaped his lips. “You’re shitting me, right?”
Emma nibbled her bottom lip nervously before replying. “I wish I was, but we’re in desperate need here.”
Aidan stared at her for several long seconds, expecting that at any minute she would say it was a joke. When she didn’t, he shook his head. “There are about a thousand other men in your family. Why does it have to be me?” he protested.
“All the other men who are your size and could fit into the costume have children in the Easter egg hunt.”
Aidan shrugged. “So?”
“Don’t you see? If their dads are missing, they’re going to think something is up.” Emma tilted her head at him. “You don’t want to ruin the mystery of the Easter Bunny for them, do you?”
“Um, if it means keeping my ass out of a furry bunny suit, then hell yes I do!”
Emma swept her hands to her hips and pursed her lips at him. “So in a couple of years, you would want someone ruining it for Noah?”
Aidan opened his mouth to protest, but the closed it. Deep down the truth was he wouldn’t want some selfish bastard ruining Easter for his kid. “No,” he grumbled.
“So does that mean you’ll do it?”
“I guess.”
The corners of Emma’s lips turned up in a pleased smile. “You know, it’ll make me very happy if you do this.”
He lifted his brows questioningly at her. “Just how happy?” As she closed the gap between them, Aidan’s breath hitched. She didn’t just walk over to him. She slunk. Her full hips sashayed to and fro in the dress.
“Although we still have a week to go before I’m fully operational again in the bedroom department—” He scowled causing her to pause. “Now Mr. Fitzgerald, I’m not finished.”
“Okay, fine.”
“As I was saying, although we still have a week left, I’m sure I could find several ways to reward you for your good deeds.”
“Just what did you have in mind?”
She tapped her finger against her chin in thought. “Maybe lots of oral attention and tender loving care to your most prized possession?”
He couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face. “Hmm, I like the sound of that. But I think I need some further convincing.” Snaking his arms around her waist, he said, “Paint me a more vivid picture.”
Emma laughed. “Do you remember the furry green handcuffs and whipped cream from our honeymoon?”
Aidan’s eyes rolled back in his head as he groaned. “Oh fuck yes.”
“Then I guarantee if you put you on that bunny costume, we’ll reenact that scene tonight when Noah is asleep.”
“Then bring on the fur and bunny ears!” Aidan exclaimed.
“See, I knew you’d see reason when I made you an offer you couldn’t refuse.” Emma kissed him with just enough passion to leave them both breathless. “Okay, we better get you ready.”
Aidan glanced warily at the costume on the bed. “So how do we do this?”
“First, I think you should take your clothes off.”
Aidan couldn’t help the cocky smirk that formed on his face. “You don’t have to ask me to do that twice.”
Emma rolled her eyes. “I’m just thinking that it’s going to be hot enough outside as it is. We don’t want to add to it by keeping on a layer of clothes.”
“Fine,” Aidan murmured. He quickly slipped out of his dress shirt and khaki pants but left his briefs on. Holding out the body of the costume, Emma helped him step inside. When she zipped him up, Aidan couldn’t help the momentary feeling of panic wash over him that he was trapped in the costume. Great, if he was freaking out now, what would it feel like when the giant head was put over him? He drew in a few calming breaths before Emma covered him with the bunny head.
“How’s that?”
Surprisingly he could see better than he thought out of the mesh eyes, and he was getting plenty of oxygen. “Not bad.”
“Good.” Rubbing his furry chest, she asked, “Ready to go wow the kids?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
When she guided him into the hallway, Grammy was waiting on them. “How did you ever talk him into it?” she asked.
“I just appealed to his sense of duty as a father,” Emma replied.
Virginia glanced between Aidan and Emma before crossing her arms over her chest. “Uh, huh...” she murmured skeptically.
Earl appeared in the hallway with Noah in his arms. At the sight of Aidan in the costume, he began snickering. It wasn’t too long before he was howling with laugher. “Wow, son, I do believe you just totally lost your man card!”
Aidan sighed inside the costume. “Fine, fine. Laugh all you want. I’m the one who’ll be reaping the benefits
tonight.”
Emma’s eyes widened before she smacked his bunny arm. “Watch it!”
Grammy giggled behind them. “Like we didn’t know some sort of favors had to be promised to get him into that costume.”
As Emma died of mortification next to him, Aidan waved his furry paw at Earl. “Bring Noah over here, so he can see me—I mean, the bunny.”
Earl closed the gap between them. Noah peered around, happily sucking on his pacifier. But the moment
Aidan leaned over Earl, Noah’s tiny face crumpled. He began screaming in what could only be fear.
“I’d say he’s not a fan of the Bunny,” Earl mused over the wailing.
“Great, now I’ve scarred my kid for life,” Aidan moaned.
Emma took Noah from Earl. After kissing his cheek reassuringly and rocking him back and forth, he began to quiet. “It’s all right, sweetheart. Mommy won’t let that mean bunny get you.”
“Babe, that’s so not funny,” Aidan muttered through his bunny head.
“All right then.” She grinned at him before glancing down at Noah. “You should be very proud of your daddy today. Although he was swayed by the idea of getting something he really wants, he made a great sacrifice because of you. He loves you enough to make an absolute fool out of himself. So don’t be afraid of the bunny, sweetheart. Love him as much as he loves you.”
Although she couldn’t see it, Aidan beamed inside the costume. “That sounds much better.”
Emma leaned up and kissed the cheek on his bunny head. Happy shrieks and children’s laughter came from out in the yard. “Well, I think that’s your cue,” she said.
“Let’s get this show on the road.”
And with that he waddled down the front door and out into the sunshine.
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Aidan Fitzgerald
Tapping out the song’s rhythm with his thumbs on the steering wheel, Aidan Fitzgerald eased his Mercedes convertible through the streets of his subdivision. The crisp October air rippled through the stra
nds of his blonde hair. He loved fall days like these when it wasn’t too cold to ride with the top down. Although there was a Volvo SUV in one side of his garage to highlight his new family man status, he had managed to keep his toy, aka the convertible, after Noah had been born. Instead, Emma’s reliable, but older model Camry, had been traded in for a more family practical SUV. Although Emma had thought it was pretentious, Aidan had insisted on the Volvo for its safety record. He wanted to pull out all the stops to keep the loves of his life safe and protected.
As he neared 401 Ansley Park Drive, he did a double take. Actually, he drove straight past his house before realizing it. Although he’d been living there for over five years, nothing in the yard was familiar to him. Throwing the car into reverse, he peered wide-eyed and open mouthed at the spectacle before him. His yard and two-story Cape Cod had somehow been transformed into a Halloweenapoolza.
When he had left for work that morning, there was only a decorative fall wreath hanging from the front door and two pumpkins on the porch that had been bought at Burt’s Pumpkin Patch when he and Emma had taken Noah the week before. Now there were orange and black twinkling lights adorning the rails on the porch. A witch was ass-up in the yard to give the appearance she’d flown straight into the grass. Another was smushed up against the side of the porch along with her broom. Tombstones and hay bales also filled the yard while ghosts flitted in the oak trees.
“Christ almighty,” he muttered, as he eased the car into the driveway. Although his house looked like a lot of the other ones in the neighborhood, it was a completely foreign concept to him. After parking the car, he jerked out the keys and hopped out.
As Aidan threw open the door from the garage leading into the house, delicious aromas assaulted his senses. Wait, was that Grammy’s BBQ cooking? Surely not. That shit took a lot of time and effort. At the same time, Aidan’s stomach rumbled in hopes that it was actually some homemade BBQ.
His gaze flickered around the kitchen before honing in on Emma. She stood at the stove, humming along with the radio. Close by her, Noah sat in his bouncing saucer. A grin stretched on Aidan’s face at the sight of the cackling baby. With Beau standing in front of him, Noah tried desperately to catch Beau’s tail that was thawping him in his face. Noah was laughing so hard he could barely catch his breath.
“I’m home,” Aidan called.
Beau barked happily as Emma whirled around. “Hey baby,” she said, a genuine grin spreading across her cheeks.
Aidan stooped over to pick up Noah who was holding his arms outs out patiently for his father. “Hey Little Man,” he said before bestowing a kiss on Noah’s cheek. He then turned his attention to his wife. Emma beamed as he leaned in for a kiss. Tightening his arms around her, his lips found hers warm and inviting. Just as he thrust his tongue inside, Noah’s gurgle interrupted them.
“Have a good day?” Emma questioned breathlessly.
“Pretty good. You?”
“Yeah. Busy, but it was great.”
Thinking of his now Thrilleresque yard, he blurted, “Em, what the hell happened outside?”
She grinned. “Patrick came over today and helped me decorate. Isn’t it amazing?”
“Oh it’s something all right. I’m just not sure it’s amazing.”
The corners of Emma’s lips turned down in a frown, and Aidan braced himself for some pregnancy mood-swings. “Don’t you like it?”
Aidan exhaled a wary breath. He desperately tried to decide what the best way to answer her question was without putting himself in the dog house. “It just seems like a lot when Noah isn’t even a year old.”
“Oh, but you should have seen him when we were decorating. He was grinning the entire time. And your dad had so much fun, too. Most of it was his idea.”
Great. If the other two Fitzgerald men that Emma loved most in the world were happy with the lawn debauchery, there was no point in arguing. He’d just have to suck it up and smile. He just hoped none of his bachelor friends caught sight of it, or they would demand his man card be revoked.
Needing to change the subject, he sniffed the air. “Hmm, that is Grammy’s BBQ I smell, isn’t it?”
Emma smiled. “Yep, I made her recipe just for you. Having Patrick here to watch Noah really helped to free up more cooking time. Oh, there’s some apple pie, too.”
Adjusting Noah on his shoulder, Aidan eyed Emma suspiciously. “Okay, what’s going on?”
“What do you mean?” Emma asked innocently.
Aidan chuckled. “Oh no, don’t play coy with me, Em. You went through a helluva lot of trouble to do homemade BBQ. So what’s the deal?”
Nibbling her lip, she bent over to take out the steaming Dutch Apple pie, which happened to be Aidan’s favorite in the whole wide world, out of the oven. She’d made it from scratch, which was no easy feat. When she sat down the pie, she sighed. “Fine. There is something I wanted to ask you.”
With a smirk, he replied, “I knew it. You always try to win over my stomach or my dick when you want something.”
She rolled her eyes. “I wanted to see if you would dress up for Halloween with me. You know, kinda like a couple’s costume thing, but a theme for the whole family.”
“You’re shitting me, right?” He had never been a huge fan of the holiday. During high school and college, he enjoyed the parties that featured free flowing booze and chicks in scantily clad costumes. After he’d moved into his house, he had discovered with dismay that his subdivision attracted Trick or Treaters by the droves. Usually, he hung out at O’Malley’s on Halloween night, drinking beer and waiting for the pandemonium to die down before he went home. Then just when he thought it was safe, Becky would arrive with her boys. He would usually have to give them granola bars or money because he didn’t have any candy in the house.
Putting on her best pouty face, Emma said, “It’s just I really, really wanted us to dress up as a family this year.”
“Babe, this all seems a little ridiculous considering Noah’s only eight months old. He has no idea about any of this hoopla, and he certainly won’t be eating the candy from Trick or Treating.” When she opened her mouth to protest, Aidan added, “And don’t even try to guilt me into this. I don’t think years later when Noah looks back, the fact his father refused to dress up for Halloween will not send him to therapy.”
“So you really won’t do it?” Her pouty face had disappeared and a more determined expression appeared.
He knew that when Emma set her mind to something, she usually got her way. She had tried appealing to him with extreme kindness, and he knew from her fiery disposition, that his dick would be feeling the next repercussions of his actions. She might be pregnant again and in sex craved hormone city, but she wouldn’t let that stop her from giving him the cold shoulder.
Aidan exhaled nosily. “If, and that’s a big if, I said yes, I would have to approve of the costume. No tights under any circumstances.”
Emma grinned. “Okay, I think I can work with that.”
“But before your imagination runs wild with what costumes you’re going to stick us in, I want to be fed this magnificent meal you went to the trouble to bribe me with.”
“I’ll be happy to.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and then bestowed a warm, inviting kiss on his lips. “I’d planned to appeal to your dick later on, but now that you’ve consented, I’ll save that for another time.”
Aidan shook his head furiously from side to side. “Oh no, you can pull out all the stops. I won’t argue with you.”
She laughed before kissing him again. “All right. Once Noah is asleep, I’m at your mercy.”
“Mmm, I like the sound of that.”
“I thought you would.” She pulled away and smiled at him. “Now sit down and we’ll eat.”
After he’d inhaled two BBQ sandwiches and eaten a large piece of pie, Aidan sat back and rubbed his full belly. “Okay, Em, hit me with the costumes.”
She smiled and rose up from the table. After handing No
ah off to him, she dug in one of the kitchen drawers. She returned with a thick catalogue full of couples and family costumes. Tapping her finger on one of the pages, Emma asked, “How about this Star Wars one? You’d look very sexy as Han Solo while Noah would look pretty cute with some Yoda ears.”
While he had to admit that the “Baby Yoda” costume was pretty freakin’ cute, Aidan eyed the Han Solo and Princess Leia costumes contemptuously. He was still not onboard with this ridiculous couples costume thing. “Hmm, I’d much prefer you sporting the Leia Slave Girl costume to this one,” Aidan mused, with a wink.
Emma snorted before gazing down at her abdomen. “I don’t think with this belly it’s happening.”
Aidan reached out to rub Emma’s barely protruding bump. “Like you’re even showing yet.”
Shaking her head, Emma replied, “Oh whatever. With this baby, I practically started showing at conception.” She nudged him playfully. “Which confirms yet again that this baby is a girl.”
Aidan felt the familiar kick in the gut whenever the baby’s sex was mentioned. It wasn’t that he didn’t want a little girl—he loved all his nieces, especially his oldest one, Megan. It was just he knew that girls were trouble—the young ones and especially the older ones. Hell, with four older sisters, he more than knew what he was talking about. Then of course, there was the red-headed beauty sitting next to him who continued to mystify him daily.
“Did you hear me, Aidan?”
“Hmm, what?”
Emma smiled. “I asked you what you thought of naming the baby, Caroline, after your mother?”
“That would be beautiful,” he murmured, his chest overcome with emotions. He couldn’t imagine a more perfect name for his daughter than the one that had belonged to his late mother. Just like Emma always knew him better than he knew himself, she reached over and squeezed his hand. When Aidan gazed up at her, she gave him a reassuring smile. “I love you.”
He leaned in to bestow a tender kiss on her lips. “I love you more.”